Welcome to statistics 101. Today’s lecture will cover the 2013 Kings of Cork Home Run Derby Teams.

First, I would like to congratulate the class of 94 TEAMS. That is the most teams we have ever had enrolled in the derby in the 4 year history of the website. I do very little publicizing of the website or competition so I have all of you to thank for its popularity. As long as you keep returning, I will keep hosting.

Now to the numbers…

7246 feet – The total distance of all 18 home runs from opening day (including Ryan LudwickRick Ankiel’s home run on March 31st). An average distance of 402 feet with Justin Upton leading the group with a 460 foot moon shot.

158.66 innings – The number of innings pitched by starting pitchers in the first 13 games. Average of 6 innings pitched per starter. So if your team’s starter went more than 6 yesterday, he was better than most.

103 players – There were 126 different choices for players and there were 100 unique players chose from the given groups. Plus, a few teams were adventurous and wrote-in 3 other unique players in Group E.

94 runs – The total number of runs scored in the 13 different opening day games. An average of 3.6 runs per team with the winning teams averaging 4.9 runs.

90 plus/minus 90 players – The number of MLB players linked to the Biogenesis lab that could possibly be suspended for 50 games. Hopefully, none of them are on your HR derby team.

62 wins – The maximum amount of wins the Astros are projected to win (even though they are on pace to win 162).

25 Percent – The percentage of Home Run Derby teams choosing the Triple Crown winner. That’s 23 of the 94 teams. Mark Reynolds was the least picked player in Group A with only 1 team picking him. Good Luck Denver Colts.

20 teams – The number of teams that chose at least one of Jason Heyward or Andrew McCutchen. Matt Kemp was the most popular pick in Group D with 17 and Allen Craig was the most popular pick in Group E with 12.

~12 Percent – The number of teams that picked one of the younger power hitters in the derby. Mike Trout was chosen 13 times and Bryce Harper was chosen 11 times (and benefited from his 2 opening day home runs). Only 2 teams chose both Harper and Trout.

5 teams – The number of teams that picked a combination of McCutchen/Heyward. Kemp/Heyward combinations were just as popular with 5 teams. And at least 2 teams picked the same first 4 players with Cabrera/Cano/McCutchen/Heyward (only saving grace from duplicate teams was a write-in in group E of Will MiddleBrooks).

4 really smart teams – The number of HR Derby teams that found my biggest mistake in the player categories… Yoenis Cespedes was not included in any group and before I even had a chance to correct it, the first team to enter The Wolf Pack had him written in. Those 4 teams are strong contenders.

2 home runs – The number of home runs that lead the Home Run Derby after Opening Day.

1 home run/complete game – The number of home runs and complete games Clayton Kershaw hit and threw on opening day. Yes, Kershaw hit a home run. And no, not a single team wrote him in Group E.

0 – The number of home runs that Ryan Ludwick hit on both Sunday and Monday before heading to surgery and the DL. And the number of duplicate teams in the 2013 Home Run Derby.

A few more interesting facts:

No team that has picked the players which tallied the highest Home Run Totals from the previous season has ever won that seasons Home Run Derby. So, Ready, Wilin, Able has a jinx to break since his 2013 players had the highest 2012 home run totals of any other team.

If you are already worried about injuries (sorry Ludwick owners), just remember 1 fact, the previous 2012 King of Cork (Team Mr Dziedzic) was in last place last season after April with 7 TOTAL home runs. So just because your team may start slow, don’t count them out (until at least the Astros are eliminated from playoff contention).

Remember, the season is long and my baseball cave has been completed (and comes standard with lots of baseball channels) so many more and frequent posts will show up in 2013.